Blackberry earl grey crumb cake, featuring a moist and buttery earl-grey infused crumb cake that’s topped with fresh blackberries and an earl-grey streusel.
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blackberry earl grey crumb cake
Blackberry & earl grey tea just make sense together, so today we’re combining the two flavors to make one delicious crumb cake. It starts out with a super moist butter cake that’s infused with earl-grey tea, then it’s topped with a thick layer of fresh blackberries and it’s finished off with an earl-grey streusel. It’s sweet, fresh, fruity, slightly citrusy and overall, of course, super delish.
So let’s get into it! ☺︎
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your butter, milk, and sour cream about an hour before starting the cake.
Mix the cake batter carefully:
It is super important to not overmix the cake batter or you end up with a tough and chewy cake rather than a light and moist cake. When alternating between adding the wet and dry ingredients, be sure to only mix just until the ingredient is fully combined and no more.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for blackberry earl grey crumb cake
earl grey streusel:
- Unsalted butter: the base of the streusel, really what makes it buttery and delicious. You can use salted butter here as well!
- Light brown sugar: sweetens and adds flavor to the streusel. You could also use dark brown sugar here for a deeper molasses flavor.
- All-purpose flour: adds structure to the streusel.
- Earl grey tea: we’ll dump the contenets of an earl grey tea sachet into the streusel for maximum flavor.
butter cake:
- All-purpose flour: the structure of the cake.
- Baking powder: for helping the cake rise.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the cake.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the cake and giving it that classic buttery taste. You can substitute in salted butter, just omit the extra salt from the recipe.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetening the cake and keeping it moist. The sugar also helps aerate the butter to give this cake it’s rise and keep it light and fluffy.
- Egg: for moisture, structure, and binding the batter together.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
- Sour cream & whole milk: for moisture, texture, and tenderizing the cake. I recommend full-fat here for both for the best texture.
- Earl grey tea: for steeping in the milk to infuse the batter with earl grey tea.
how to make blackberry earl grey crumb cake
Here’s a little bit of what the process of making this cake looks like. The full recipe is at the end of this blog post!
- Make the earl grey streusel by combining all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Make the butter cake: start by beating together the butter and sugar, then add in the egg and vanilla.
- Alternate folding in the wet and dry ingredients.
- Layer the cake in your cake pan: smooth the butter cake batter into an even layer, top it with the halved blackberries, then finish it off with the streusel. Bake, serve, and enjoy!
blackberry earl grey crumb cake
recipe q&a
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – simply double all the ingredients and split them between two 7″ cake pans.
can I use a different sized pan?
You can use an 8″ cake pan, just note that the layers will be thinner and the cake will bake up faster. If all you have on hand is a 9″ cake pan, I recommend multiplying the recipe by 1.5x to use the 9″ pan. For half an egg, simply whisk up an egg in a small bowl and add in 2 tbsp. of it into the recipe, with the other egg.
How to store this cake
Keep the cake stored in an airtight container at room temperature. It will taste the best on the day it’s baked, but will keep well for up to 5 days.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Blackberry Earl Grey Crumb Cake
Ingredients
Earl Grey Streusel
- 42 g unsalted butter (3 tbsp.)
- 75 g light brown sugar (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 75 g all-purpose flour (½ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 1 earl grey tea sachet
Butter Cake
- 75 g whole milk (2 ½ oz.)
- 1 earl grey tea sachet
- 150 g all-purpose flour (1 ¼ c.)
- 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 100 g unsalted butter (7 tbsp.) room temperature
- 125 g granulated sugar (½ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 75 g sour cream (¼ c. + 1 tbsp.) room temperature
- 150 g fresh blackberries halved (1 ¼ c.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Generously butter a 7" springform pan. Set aside.
- Heat 75g of milk in the microwave in 30-second intervals until it begins to bubble, then place an earl grey tea sachet in the warm milk. Set it aside to steep.
Earl Grey Streusel
- In a medium sized bowl, melt the butter. To the butter, add the sugar, flour, and the contents of an earl grey tea sachet. Use a fork to mix the ingredients together until you have formed clumps of dough. Set aside.
Butter Cake
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer, in a large bowl) beat together the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in the egg and the vanilla. Beat until well combined (~1 min.)
- Add in half of the flour mixture, and mix by hand just until the flour is incorporated. Remove the tea sachet from the milk, squeezing the sachet to remove the milk from it. Add the milk and sour cream into the batter and mix until combined. Add in the rest of the flour, and lightly fold the mixture together just until all of the flour is incorporated.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan, smoothing out the top. Gently place the halved blackberries in an even layer over the cake, then top it with the earl grey streusel.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cake come to room temperature, then slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
